LONG DAYS OF VENGEANCE 1966-Very good and involving Guiliano Gemma Italian western about a man (Gemma) escaping a labor camp to avenge the wrongs done to him. Gemmaís hero is much different here from his portrayal of Ringo and others. In this film, humor is kept to a minimum and Gemma is a thinking mans gunslinger as he uses trickery to get himself out of sticky situations. The barber scene near the beginning is masterfully done. The remainder of the film is just as good. There is much story and dialog but the film is the better for it. The action scenes are well done with an unusual (for the time) finale where things arenít going quite to plan for the hero. Some complain the film drags but I found no problem with it as I was drawn into the story mechanics. Thereís more going on than standard good guy-gets-revenge-on-the-bad-guys scenario. This version contains a 120 minute Italian version, a 90 minute Spanish version that oddly enough, has much better picture quality and is correctly framed at 2:35:1. An English track is included but during the bits where there was no english dubbing, no english subs are provided either. The longer cut is best as it fleshes out scenes and characters even more. Itís not hard to follow though. If youíre a Gemma fan, youíll want to see it regardless.

I just finished watching two versions of that movie. The first time, and until the last 20 minutes, I wasn't sure if I was actually liking the movie or not. At the end, I came to the conclusion that I did like it. Indeed, it is another classic Gemma SW, and even if the plot and some of the scenes are not too original (in fact, they are very similar to other GG movies), I did like many of the camera shots as well as the soundtrack. At the very least, the movie is entertaining.

Don't know about the 120 minutes version. What I have seen is the Spanish 90 minutes version and another version with Japanese subtitles which is about 102 minutes long. Some of the differences between both versions below.

Extended scene of Mr. Cobb and General Profirio waiting for the train.

Extended Gemma's torture.

Scene with Pajarito and Dulcie.

Extended fight between Cobb's and Porfirio's' men.

Extended scene of Gemma in Jail.

Scene of the gallows being built + Nieves Navarro walking on the street.

Extended scenes of preparations for hanging.

Extended final fighting.

Scenes in the Spanish version not included in the Japanese version:

Execution of two black men (killed by Cobb), as well as of the villager who betrayed them (killed by one of Cobb's men.

Extended conversation between Mr. Cobb and General Porfirio.

Extended railway station scene.

Extended conversation between sheriff Douglas and Nieves Navarro.

Extended conversation between sheriff Douglas and his deputy.

Scene of Mr. Cobb searching for documents in the late sheriff's safe, and being questioned by the judge.

I may have missed a few more details, but I was not in the mood of watching two movies side by side taking note of every difference. The fact remains, the Spanish version is a much nicer print, but some of the scenes in the Japanese version should have been included in the Spanish version (mainly the conversation between Gemma and the station master, as it adds clues regarding his father's murder).